2001 Rudd Proprietary Red, Oakville Estate

I've already reviewed the Rudd Jericho Canyon Red Blend here, and therefore I was excited when last week I had the pleasure of sampling the just bottled 2001 Rudd Oakville Proprietary Red. Even with high expectations I was impressed. This wine is quintessential in its poise, depth of character, and flavor. It tastes more like a Cabernet than a meritage, but has some lovely depth and dimension that you only get with a blend.

I think they make something like 1200 cases of this stuff and it is immediately snapped up by the market with good reason. If you can find any at all, it's worth the price tag.

Tasting Notes:
This wine is a bright classic ruby red in the glass with a bubbling cherry, tobacco and leather nose. On the tongue it has one of the most classically beautiful cherry characteristics I have ever tasted with a very round mouthfeel that is supported by well integrated tannins and a long, long finish. This is a wine that is built to age, but is immediately accessible -- a classic California take on the Bordeaux style, done in the best of taste.

Food Pairing:
This is a wine that will turn red meats into ambrosial feasts of delight. It needs something refined and rich, like veal shoulder with porcini mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary.

Overall Score: 10

How Much?: This wine will hit the street at least at $100 a bottle if not more. I'm not sure if Parker or others have scored it yet, but when they do it will be high, mark my words.

Posted by: Alder on March 26, 2004 12:24 PM: Tweet; Share this post elsewhere: Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit; Filed under: Perfect 10s , Red Wine , Wine Reviews

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Comments (3)

Anonymous wrote:

03.26.04 at 1:09 PM

I'm pretty sure that David Ramey is no longer the winemaker at Rudd and did not make the 2001 Estate. I visited the new setup at Rudd in January and that was the scoop from them.

Alder wrote:

03.26.04 at 1:41 PM

(I had originally attributed this wine to the work of David Ramey) If I had done my homework better, I would have seen that you are correct! Ramey left Rudd in 2002, so it's unclear whether he was fully responsible for this vintage. To be safe all references to David Ramey with regards to this review have been expunged ! Thank you "anonymous."

David Ramey wrote:

05.31.04 at 8:48 AM

Actually, I did harvest, ferment, get the vintage through malo and sulfur it, but left the blending to Charles Thomas--so this wine is really a joint effort. I left Rudd March 1 of 2002.